Between Light and Dark
by Beakwood
Summary: Even the smallest things can do changes that will result in matters of great importance, even if on an entire galaxy. The will of one will decide the fate of many, but what if this "one" isn't the Chosen One expected to make everything change?There's someone else in the galaxy to be able to change the fate of it?How far would he need to go to make the difference?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi everyone!This is just my first fanfic about Star Wars. Yes there's thousands of fics about the franchise but I wanna something more...curious. The story is to develop around an Oc character(OC ALERT!)Yes, I know, not the most interesting start already. I personally don't like Oc's much, but then he will be the only Oc to actually have a important role in this story.**

**The way this story will go takes a start into the previous week before the beginning of the Clone Wars, the time and story will develop in a way curiously different from the original plot(ALTERNATE DIMENSION ALERT)Yeah, you can see it that way if you want. I'm a crazy fanatic for Star Wars, especially the games, but I'm not a goddamn SW encyclopedia so don't expect me to know EVERYTHING. Especially because there's a lot of different aspects in SW that are not 100% accurate.**

**Also this story can prove to be a good deep learning of Star Wars for those who might not know much. **

**I do tend to preserve the timeline, but also bringing into scene original characters that you don't expect and rarely or never seem/heard before. This is where most part of the fun is. **

**The start might be a bit boring, there's a lot of introducing and explaining to do, and also the back-story for OC characters tends to be...rather boring. This first chapter will go by P.O.V and might keep that way for first couple chapters.**

**This story takes into consideration several SW games and the Clone Wars series as most of it's basis. Enjoy. Rated T for most of it.**

* * *

I woke up by the sound of the alarm. Slowly opened my eyes to get used with the sudden clarity that filled my room. I yawned tiredly. Just another day to live through. Another boring routine of work.

I really don't know what did I expect by signing for this job.

Of course this was all my father's idea. His curiosity being so immense that would make him go to the distant corners of the galaxy searching for all the responses.

And he actually went that far.

My father probably was one of the greatest explorers of the whole galaxy, there was no distant moon, planet, or system that he didn't believe it was possible to reach or discover. He went farther than anyone could go, and took risks he shouldn't, but all was worthy. His discoveries and achievements earned him great respect by the Republic as a whole. It was hard to find anyone, no matter if at Coruscant or even far as Mon Calamari, that haven't heard of him.

For me...never meant anything. I was just his son.

Of course my father always wanted me to follow his steps of a great explorer. He always said it was more honorable to reach the confines of the Universe than taking part into epic battles or such. There was no honor on killing, of course he never saw trough the causes of why people would do such. The galaxy was huge, and conflicts were taken almost as normal. Every day would be the start of a new battle, a new engagement, but it was not like that for a simple reason.

The Jedi.

From all the curious things that could be out there on the galaxy nothing made my father so curious about more than the Jedi. Their 'religion', as my father used to say, works in such mysterious ways that nothing else in the galaxy would make him more interesting to learn about.

That much interest took me to where I am now, my father was so interested on the Jedi and their secrets and legends that asked me to get closer and find much as I could. Which let me to get a job at the Jedi Temple at Coruscant. It was a good thing we already lived at the planet, I would feel uncomfortable by living in such monstrous city by my own.

Unfortunately I was now anyway.

I heard about the Jedi a lot and always paid attention to the stories that were told about them. How most people saw them as heroes with superpowers. I never really took the superpower thing seriously until I saw with my own eyes. Those 'superpowers' were something they called 'The Force'. I never really understood the whole thing about the Force, and never intended too anyway, my biggest concern was to fulfill my duties by making part of the Temple Security Force.

The Temple Security Force was a security police force on Coruscant tasked with protecting the Jedi Temple and its successor, the Temple's Jedi occupants and treasures, and those civilians visiting or living in the surrounding Temple Precinct.

Temple Security Force was divided into two groups. The largest and most visible group was composed of non-Force-sensitive beings, which was the one I make part of. Trained as police and soldiers, the other group was composed by some former Jedi who had been unable to pass their Jedi Initiate Trials yet wanted to continue serving the Jedi Order. The Security Force was under the command of Chief of Security Temple battle master Cin Drallig.

A guy that I seriously disliked.

After many years of service and attaining the rank of Jedi Master Cin Drallig was elected battlemaster(or swordmaster), making him the leading lightsaber combat instructor in the Temple. Though it smacked of disrespect, Drallig earned the unflattering nickname of "the Troll" among the Order. Which served him quite well in my opinion.

While cleaning myself from the morning dust I reflected on several things my father expected from me to accomplish.

I always wondered if he would be more interest on me if I was a Jedi instead of just his son. But I'll never know, besides...he's been missing for five years.

Last day I saw my father I was around seventeen years old, I had just got started my work at the temple. But then my father informed me he was on his way to explore the Unknown Regions of the galaxy, a task that was relied on him by the Chancellor himself.

If there was something that threw my father off of himself was that time with the bloody Outbound Flight Project.

The Outbound Flight Project was the brainchild of Master Jorus C'baoth. Chancellor Palpatine had worked with C'baoth before, and for years the two of them had discussed the possibility of life outside the galaxy. That possibility never left C'baoth's imagination and, eventually, it blossomed into a workable proposal. Given the title of the Outbound Flight Project, C'baoth presented it to Palpatine for approval. Six Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers would be linked to a central storage core, becoming a single vessel, and then launched on a course through the fringes of the Republic, then the Unknown Regions, then off into the void, eventually to reach a nearby galaxy, and back again.

Such foolishness.

Extra-galactic travel had long been dismissed as impossible because of intersecting ripples formed in hyperspace by galactic masses. C'baoth believed the Jedi could use the Force to calm this turbulence, and tests in the briar patch border of the Unknown Regions seemed to bear him out, so C'baoth recommended that he and as many other Jedi as possible joined the expedition. Though other reasons surely factored into his supporting the project—the possibility of learning more about the so-called 'Far Outsiders'.

I'm astonished that the Chancellor ever believed this to actually work. Hardly anyone else did at that time. And after the ending results, that lead into the destruction of the ship designed for the project and the death of all crew members, it was for a good reason. Despite happening around five years ago the Jedi Order never fully recovery from that loss.

My father never believed that project to be successful, but he also hated how the Senate gave so many funds for it to happen while he had more concrete evidences of what could be found in the Unknown Regions.

_'...I once left for the Unknown Regions, determined to lose myself. I learned that unknown was not the same as empty._  
_Far from the cityscape of Coruscant, beyond the fringe planets of the Outer Rim, lies a vast region of space called the Unknown Regions. The Unknown Regions are mysterious and uncharted. They are home to strange aliens, violent slavers, and the forgotten remnants of ancient civilizations that have lived in isolation for eons._

_There are places in the galaxy full of danger and mystery, places where the light from the Core Worlds simply does not shine. These are the planets of the Unknown Regions, a sector of unexplored space far beyond the Outer Rim. In this vast expanse, rich worlds wait to be discovered and alien landscapes wait to be explored. However, the Unknown Regions are far from uninhabited. Many frightening creatures prowl the expanse, and alien species bent on conquest and plunder lurk at the fringes of known space. The galaxy needs heroes who will risk everything to explore these new worlds and stop these threats from advancing...'_

At least that's what my father used to say. But he never took sectors way after the Outer Rim to be specifically a Unknown Region. What really was strange it was that a great part of this galaxy was unexplored.

The Unknown Regions included a unique section of the galactic disk to the "galactic west" of Bakura, a web of hyperspace anomalies in this section known as "the tangle" impeded galactic exploration by the Republic for millenniums.

One hypothesis by a noted scientist suggested that it was a mass of dark matter intersected the galaxy in this region, creating gravitational anomalies that hindered navigation. However, the lack of any tidal disruption of the galaxy's spiral form may have disproved this supposed dark mass. Alternate theories included "hyperspatial gravitic ripples", or the intentional construction of a barrier, by what or who it was uncertain.

What was known for certain is that the division between explored space and the Regions was almost precisely at the midline of the hyperspace disturbance that surrounded the galaxy. It was clear, moreover, that much of the Unknown Regions were passable to determined travelers.

Which was something my father saw as good news. After he left no one ever heard of him again and I kept here for months studding his previous works, trying to understand what could motivate him so much to go after the unknown.

One day I went over one of the mysteries about the Jedi that my father worked for so long to figure it out.

The Valley of the Jedi.

My father never really told me how he found about this Valley information, or from where he retrieved so much info, since most of it probably could only be found at the Jedi Archive, which was a place strictly exclusive to Jedis.

_''...at the close of the New Sith Wars, the Brotherhood of Darkness's situation had become so fragile that their leader, Lord Kaan, resorted to the use of a thought bomb to end the war._

_Luring the Jedi deep into one of Ruusan's caves, Kaan and his Brotherhood detonated the thought bomb, hoping to wipe out Jedi Lord Hoth's Army of Light. However, Hoth perceived Kaan's strategy and left most of his army behind, taking only ninety-nine Jedi with him . This sacrifice was not in vain, as the Sith proved unable to control the thought bomb, killing the entire Brotherhood of Darkness and ending the New Sith Wars._

_Jedi Knight Johun Othone, Hoth's former Padawan, went against the will of the Jedi Council to build a monument to the heroes of the Army of Light and Lord Hoth, with a mausoleum adorned with massive statues. He instead placed a huge Adegan crystal in a meditative chamber for the Jedi. The monuments were made by stones that came from various planets, like the heroes of the Army of Light. The graves of the heroes were contained in a central underground cavern of natural origin, with several satellite chambers hewn around it. They were filled with artifacts that presumably belonged to the fallen Jedi warriors. At least one aqueduct brought water into the Valley._  
_It is believed that the spirits of the Jedi were trapped and the Bouncers of Ruusan said that they would be freed when a 'Knight' returned to release them...''_

Nothing but a Jedi legend in my opinion. There was never real evidence of such Valley or even where Ruusan was located. The Jedi would say that shifting nebulae soon erased hyperspace routes to Ruusan, leaving it inaccessible from the Galaxy at large. Because of the monument's "illegality," the Jedi Council forgot about the Valley which eventually became legendary.

I quickly got myself changed and went straight to leave my apartment. Luckily for me I also decide to become on expert at the technology area, if you can call being a hacker an expert thing, it came quite handy in several situations. It was so easy to infiltrate at certain computer systems and discover things that most people would never know about, it was almost like I was some kind of droid that would interlink to the machine access forbidden datas.

All was interlinked and Coruscant was one massive giant compute storage, it was the center of everything and all that would occur on the rest of the galaxy would trespass here somehow. Not only I learned how to break through files and corrupted system but also to track any intercoms, which means I could spy on others people private conversations.

Of course that wasn't legal, but so good I was to keep my tracks clean I really never got myself into trouble or being close to it.

* * *

While on my way to the Jedi Temple I watched the several buildings through the window of the my seat at the train. This city was so vast that one could live at Coruscant's Undercity and hide from the rest of the galaxy easily, though that wouldn't mean you would be safe.

It only took few minutes to see the temple at distance. Thankfully I lived nearby, despite of how the public transport was quite efficient anyway. A good deal with working there was that the routine was quite punctual when it came to shifts. My shift was from morning, not so early, to the start of night. I could get a decent amount of rest from one day to another and get some days off, especially at weekends.

After I came down at the Temple's nearest station I made my way up getting pass the first security post at the province. I greeted the guards working that, that let me pass without further questioning as they greeted me as well. It became very familiar of most of them quickly brie friendly almost everyone that worked as part of the Security Force.

I made my way to the security dress rooms to get my uniform and equipment(which in strict terms means my blaster gun), only stopping to greet some other friends of mine. I was on my way to report to Cin Drallig.

What was the bad part about this job?Well, there were two things.

One: The rules about taking with the Jedi were kinda harsh in a point of view. Don't mind what they do, don't mind what they say unless is an order or request, and most importantly don't mind to talk with them unless is something related with security measures.

Two: Most part of this job consisted in one thing. Walk and watch.

I seriously spent most of my life walking through this huge Temple, I walked around so much that I was sure I walked enough to cover the distance from the planet to it's moon just by walking.

It was rather boring to walk, walk, and walk. Watching was the easiest thing to do, and this place was so huge you could cover a lot of area with your eyes since it was wide open at several places. I dunno why they made this place abnormally huge, such waste of space and structure.

I saw Jedi Master Cin Drallig talking with one of his padawans talking something about some Juyo or whatever it was. I walked next to him and waited for the resume of his explanation that I actually bother to pay attention.

Cin Drallig voiced bold, direct motions as characteristics of Juyo, qualifying them as more open and kinetic than Form V(whatever that was), but with a less elaborate appearance than Ataru. Drallig contrasted the tactics of Juyo as not nearly as graceful or linked as those of Ataru, instead referring to them as "seemingly unconnected staccato sequences." He also listed one of the strengths of the form as its unpredictability. The form was said to necessitate greater energy than Form V, due to a broader wielding of a user's focus and a deeper emotional link

I totally did not understand a damn thing at all.

When he finally resumed his talk he turned towards me without any sign of surprise. Probably his Jedi instincts warned him of my presence.

"Ah, Adregallus. It's good to see you again, ready for another day I believe?" He said with a gently smile. I nodded formally. I disliked Drallig for one good reason, he could be a total jerk sometimes, especially when it comes about duty. I wouldn't get fooled by gently faces or talks. Of course that's because I'm not a Jedi, I'm just another security guard.

"Yes, sir, just wondering where you want me today," I replied respectfully.

"Of course, I would need someone to watch the surroundings at the Room of a Thousand Fountains."

I raised an eyebrow. The Room of a Thousands Fountains?Wow, I never got there before but heard about it.

The Room of a Thousand Fountains was a large greenhouse located at the base of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Containing waterfalls and huge amounts of flora, meditative areas, pottery, and stone walkways, the chamber served as a meditative retreat for the members of the Jedi Order while staying in the Temple.

It was unheard off about someone that not a Jedi ever getting in there before.

"It's that so?But why?Normally we're not allowed, only Jedi," I asked surprised by this. Drallig just chuckled.

"I believe I can trust you such simple task, you did well enough to earn it. Besides the Jedi responsible for guarding that area it's out of the planet at the moment occupied with a more important task, so I think you fit perfectly for the job."

"Understood sir, I'll be there right away," I said before turning to leave. "Have a good day,"

"Same for you, until later Adregallus."

I actually though this was going to be just another boring day, but perhaps things finally were starting to change, and hopefully it would keep this way.

It would be impossible to me from that moment to guess how much was about to change.

**A/N: So how was it for first chapter? I do intend to use cannon information to describe most of locations and also characters. Hopefully when it comes about interacting I can keep them in character, until next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

Well, this day was just getting better and better.

I finally reached the Fountain Room, it seemed vacant at the moment, at least at the first few seconds before I bumped into someone.

Normally I would quickly turn around expecting the worst, some kind of intruder or whatever, but I froze instantly as I identified the person I collided with.

"Are you alright?" She asked while coming closer to me, a tone of concern evident in her voice.

Standing near me was a female trandoshan, she was a bit taller than me, light brown scales barely visible considering her Jedi attire. Her incredible bright green eyes studying me coolly. I was almost dumbfounded, never heard of trandoshans being Jedis before.

It was uncommon, but not unheard of, that some Trandoshans were Force-sensitive. Because of their reputations as bounty hunters they weren't usually accepted as Jedi or even Sith; there were exceptions, however, such as the rogue Jedi Kras'dohk, and Mrssk that fought during the New Sith Wars. Normally they would use their Force-sensitivity to their advantage as bounty hunters.

"Hum, yes ma'am. Forgive me for my carelessness, I was a bit distracted with the view of this place, never I've been designed to guard the Fountain Room before," I said while gathering my nerves again.

"It's alright," She said dismissively with her right hand. I had I strong suspicion that she must be a Jedi Knight, considering her relaxed manners. Older Jedi, especially masters, would be much more strict. "You're from the Security team, right?" She asked while pointing to my uniform.

"Yes, I am. Captain Adregallus at your service," I couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Much to my surprise she giggled a bit.

Well this was going rather easy than it should.

"Nice to meet you Adre, I'm Lissarkh. I used to be Master Plo Koon's apprentice a couple of years ago. I've recently passed my tests," She said while smiling confidentially. "I never saw you around before, are you a new member?"

Okay, first she already addressed me as 'Adre', well no big deal, I guess? Second is that she never saw me around, which is weird cause I've been here for years!

Perhaps this damn temple was way too big as I previously thought.

"A pleasure Lis," I said returning the 'favor', both her eyebrow's raised on pure astonishment. What? Weren't you expecting the same treatment? Or perhaps 'Lis' sounds a bit too intimate?

Whatever.

"So you're a Jedi Knight then?" I asked out of curiosity, I knew damn well how Jedi could sense my feelings and know if I was lying or not. As if I never took precautions to shield myself of such, of course I wasn't a force-sensitive but having a strong mind helped greatly.

"At the moment I'm designed as Jedi Guardian," She said while moving around me. Thankfully she did without staring at me, that would've made me uncomfortable.

A Jedi Guardian was the name given to one of the three distinct branches of Jedi, the other two being Jedi Consular and Jedi Sentinel. The Jedi Guardians skills and talents lay in battle, a light side mirror of the Sith Warrior.

Their role in the Jedi Order had remained largely consistent throughout its history but was first written down by the Guardian Jedi ace Crix Sunburris in the text, _The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force_.

Because not all Guardians could specialize in every field of study, there were several different paths a Jedi could take to hone their own skills to better serve the Order. Separated into four major divisions, this class not only focused on martial skills, but that of piloting and space combat.

"Did you specialized on any particular field of the Guardians?" I asked now deeply interested. This somewhat seemed to make the Trandoshan happier than before, I wonder if she's lacking of having anyone to talk with.

"I've received Ace and Lightsaber instruction from my master, Peacekeeper never caught my interest," She said innocently. I couldn't help but smile. This girl liked some action.

"Sounds really nice, what are you up to at the moment?" I asked while pratolling around the Fountain Room, Lissarkh seemed okay with following me around. Despite her, apparently, happy personality I couldn't help but think she needed some company.

Well, as long she don't stalk me around, I never spent this much time with a Jedi before. Rules are rules after all, but this time I had to make an exception.

She walked rather gracefully for a reptillian species of her size, also I wondered if the fact that the Fountain Room had a more appealing environment for her species is what made her be around this area much longer. Perhaps this is why I we never saw each other before. Most of the temple areas were cold and empty, not exactly what perhaps she was looking for.

Few more Jedi were around at that area, though I notice most of them weren't human, mostly other alien species that I never saw around before. Never I could guess they would spent their time a this location because of the more inviting environment.

Did it felt closer to their previous homes?

I also realized most of the other people were avoiding getting too close to both of us, I frowned slightly at this. Why were they avoiding us? What could be wrong with a Jedi and a...

Then it hit me.

She _is_ Trandoshan.

How could I have forgotten what most people of the galaxy think of Trandoshans? Perhaps I had to remind myself of how problematic this was.

As a species, they were renowned across the galaxy for great strength. This is evidenced by several members of other species boasting physical prowess and power by having defeated a Trandoshan, either in battle or in a contest of strength.

The Trandoshans originated on Trandosha, also known as Dosha or Hsskor. It was in the same star system asKashyyyk, the homeworld of the Wookiees. In 7000 BBY, the Trandoshans joined the Galactic Republic. During the New Sith Wars Sith troops landed on Trandosha, and the Trandoshans slaughtered many of the troopers. The Sith retaliated by invading their world and burning the homes of the Trandoshans, leading the surviving Trandoshans to save themselves from death by pledging loyalty to the Brotherhood of Darkness.

A couple of months ago Trandoshan bandits invaded and occupied the planet of Jabiim before later moving on. At this time, Dosha was only indirectly represented in the Galactic Senate by the Wookiee Yarua, much to the Trandoshans' dismay. In response, Trandoshan terrorists attempted to assassinate Yarua in 32 BBY. A Wookiee vessel was attacked over a moon of Trandosha, resulting in a Wookiee blockade of Trandosha. Peace talks to resolve the issue were conducted and failed when it was revealed that the Trandoshans were pushing for Senatorial representation with Trade Federation backing.

As a society, they were despised.

"For now I'm just waiting for future assignments, though it's really hard to tell if I'll have any. With me being a recent Guardian at their ranks I don't expect any tasks for the next months. I'll probably just improve my training," She said a bit more formally than before. That made me think if she was somewhat disappointed with this perspective.

"I understand, ain't easy to spent whole day at this place, but you've spent most of your life here, doesn't it get boring?" I asked while checking my comm link. So far no contacts were made requesting me for anything, normally expected but I would appreciate more things to do while in this Temple, the more work the fsater the day would go. At least my vacations were almost at the door, just a cople weeks and I'll be making my way off-world to one of the resort planets in the Core.

Lissarkh seemed conflicted about my question relating the life at the Temple. I was pretty sure she did find it boring, but it was her home after all, it's hard to for her to compare it to something else if she never lived elsewhere aside this place.

"Well, it's...manageable," She said with a tone of uncertainty. "I can really precise how much this place does for me, but it's being home ever since I was very little."

"I guess so, but you ever tried to live outside the Temple?" I asked pretty amazed more Jedi haven't done it yet. Yes, such occurrence was pretty rare. There weren't enough Jedi to socialize out the temple mostly because of their rules and nature of their teachings. Still there were few that decided to find their own space at the large city instead of inside the Temple.

"Like most of the other Jedi, still it's not really a bad thing, of course you'll never know unless you give it a try. It's not really allowed for me to recommend you this kind of stuff. I'm just giving you an idea, it's up to you anyways," I quickly said not wanting to get myself into trouble with a Jedi Master later. I barely knew this girl but she seemed rather ok.

For a Jedi.

"Don't worry, I won't mention about it," She said, probably feeling my distress over the matter. "Thanks for talking with me Adre, normally anyone else just says few words and walks away. Sometimes I wonder why," She said while crossing her arms and looking away thoughtfully.

"Well, the guards are not really to talk with the Jedi unless necessary for emergencies," I said automatically.

"It's not only the guards that avoid talking with me," She added, I winced a bit. Okay, interspecies problem identified.

"Well, if that's the case why don't you take some time away in the city, if you want I can help you after my shift," I suggested amazing myself with such. Since when I became so carefree about someone else? Or perhaps I was always like this and never noticed?

"Really?" Her scaled face brightened a bit after that offer. I nodded slightly. I wouldn't be doing such if I wasn't aware that there isn't any security cameras on the corner we are currently standing at. "That sure makes my week, I was getting really bored,"

I raised my eyebrows at her playfulness.

"I thought Jedi never get bored," I pointed out sarcastically.

"Whoever said that probably wasn't a Jedi,"

Now that surprised me. This girl seemed a bit off from the regular Jedis that walked around the temple, such behavior was typical of younger members, but not so evident like this towards strangers.

"How old are you again?" I asked hoping that I wasn't getting too personal on her. She seemed relaxed before answering.

"I'm about twenty-five standard years old, and you?"

"Twenty-three," I replied rather dryly. She was at the limit age of padawans. At least I could rest assured that she was a Guardian, Master Plo Koon must've taught this girl really well for her to developed fast as that.

For a Trandoshan she was on her best years, since they would only be considered old after the age of fifty.

"Okay then, Lissarkh. I'll pick you at the gates after the sun sets, deal?" I raised my hand in a friendly gesture. She smiled, though her smile seemed more like a smirk, I guess that's the best she could express since she was reptilian.

"Deal," She said while quickly shaking my hand. "Just in case you're leaving and I'm not around don't worry, I might have to leave unnoticed,"

Well, that was expected. It's not like she could report her absence and having me around leaving with her, that would raised many suspicions if anyone sees it.

I gently waved a goodbye to her before turning around and resuming my shift. Launch came by and I took my break feeling much better than I should. I knew I was breaking several rules by what I've done, but this made me feel much better about it. Probably something my father would advise me carefully about it.

Now I wonder if I could get something else in this friendship with Lissarkh. Yes, she's a guardian, and with few more weeks she would be ranked higher and get access to the Jedi Archives.

The Jedi Archives were a vast library of information gathered by theJedi Order and found within the Jedi Temple. The Archives were overseen by Jocasta Nu, the Chief Librarian who would assist Jedi in finding the information they needed and also controlled access to the restricted Holocron Vault contained within the library.

The Archives contained historical records dating back thousands of years, maps of the entire galaxy, scientific, mathematical and astronomical journals, engineering and technology documents as well as Jedi records on the Sith. It also detailed the geography and cultures of various planets and species across the galaxy, as well as their zoology and botany. Secrets about how the Jedi used the Force and biographies of numerous Jedi's and their identification details were also housed in the Archives.

My only reason to work at this damned Temple was to get that amazing information stored into those archives. So much the Jedi were too selfish to share with my father. He knew the Jedi would never allow him access to the archive, so he convinced me to work at the Temple and figure out a way to copy the data in the archives.

He was totally convinced that the info for the secret location of the Valley of the Jedi would be in there.

Now into those archives there was also the Holocron Vault.

The Holocron Vault was an archive chamber within the Jedi Temple home of the Jedi Order's holocrons, storage devices which held a powerful library of knowledge. The Holocron Vault held the Order's holocrons under the watchful eye of the Chief Librarian.

The Vault was found along the outer edges of the Archives' Second and Fourth Halls, shielded by a pair of dilating security doors. A circular hallway between the two contained security lasers which could detect movement and if they did, sound an alarm. Official access to the Vault was only allowed to the twelve Jedi Masters with seats on the Jedi Council, who could activate the lock using the the Force.

That was far as I could discover. I just wonder what would be in there.

"Are you flying off into space again, Adregallus?" A voice asked shaking me off my thoughts. I stared around to see one of my friends from a long time since I came to the temple, his name was Tera Sinube.

Tera Sinube was a wizened Jedi Master of advanced years, who had yellow eyes, speckled brown-green skin, and white hair. He wore a slight variation of the traditional Jedi robes that accommodated his Cosian physiology enough to allow his lengthy tail to move without restriction. He required a cane to support his gnarled frame and moved about at the same measured pace with which he approached every situation.

A methodical investigator and a keen observer of people, Sinube was recognized by the Jedi Order as an expert on the inner workings of Coruscant's criminal underworld. Even the Chief Librarian of the Jedi Archives, Jocasta Nu, deferred to Sinube's superior experience in the subject and directed related inquiries to him when he was available

Sinube was skilled in the Force with regard to sensing the emotions of those around him. He was well trained in lightsaber combat, and wielded a sabercane, one with an intricately designed handle made from Cosian wood, and an enlarged ferrule with which to provide the elderly Jedi Master increased support.

Sinube only revealed the duplicity of his weapon when necessary, separating the cane and producing a white lightsaber blade from its handle. When not in use, Sinube returned the handle to the shaft, effectively concealing his lightsaber from view. He also used the shaft and massive ferrule of his cane as a bludgeon, despite his age Sinube was still a fast opponent and could deliver deadly strikes in a matter of seconds.

"Nothing much Tera, just thinking about how the day went so far," I said while shaking his hand. He took a seat nearby me while closing his eyes into a meditative state.

Sinube and I had a long way when it came to investigating stuff, my hacking skills surely helped him greatly when needed during difficult times, just as his skills taught me lots of how to approach different situations. I surely learned more from him than anyone else, except my father.

I liked Sinube much because of how playful he is on few occasions and didn't have that extra formality of the usual Jedi Masters around the temple. He's different on his own way and I like much of him for that, also he seemed much more happy to be working along the newer generations.

Also he is the only one that has a white-bladed lightsaber, how rare and cool is that? Perhaps it was the only time I wished to be a Jedi and have such weapon.

"Ahn, so a different day you finally had?" He asked with evident curiosity. He never had any problems demonstrating his feelings, being more open than any Jedi I've ever seen.

"Quite, did you ever heard about a Jedi Guardian called Lissarkh?" I asked while serving myself of something to drink. Sinube raised an eyebrow while placing a finger under his check.

"Lissarkh...ahn yes...Plo Koon previous Padawan. If I remind correctly he has been teaching a new Padawan for the last couple of years, her name was Tano I believe. Lissarkh has just recently acquired her Guardian rank after few weeks once she passed her tests,"

"Hum, so you do know her," I said as a matter-of-fact. "I meet with her this mourning at the Fountain Room, she seemed really nice."

"Interesting, I never knew that you would be the one to start a conversation with a random Jedi," Sinube pointed out with a smirk. I frowned.

"Who exactly said it was me who start it?" I retorted while fixing a. annoyed glare at the elder master. This surprised the Cosian.

"Wasn't you? Well, this means that she must be going through a difficult time if she's willing to talk with anyone," He said while playing with his haird. Sometimes Sinube could be really odd.

"I guess it's just because she's feeling very lonely, she's Trandoshan and that makes people avoid her constantly," I noticed the aggravation on Sinube's face. "You know what I'm talking about, we talked about this kind of things before,"

Letting out a heavy sigh the Cosian slowly nodded.

"Yes, even if it sounds rather unpleasant to think such things happen that often, I'm forced to agree with you on that matter. May I have a bit of that?" He asked pointing to my drink. I shrugged.

"Go on, just don't expect to have a great flavor, I was never one for being extremely healthy," I said while finishing my food. "I kinda asked her out,"

The sound of choking quickly came to my ears, I stared to my side to see Sinube spilling the drink all over the table while gasping for air. If this wasn't so serious I would've laughed at his face.

"Now that you're done I don't mean as in a date, for an old man you sure have a creative mind. I just offered to show her the town around," I said feeling already upset with myself.

Sinube stared at me suspiciously.

"Most of the younglings at the temple receive training over the schematics of Coruscant, they don't need to be showed around at such age," He said while crossinh his arms and staring at me severely. "You know you're getting yourself into some problem, you must be careful Adregallus,"

"Don't worry _dad_," I said with a touch of irony and anger. Sinube's hardened expression softened a bit. He did knew the deal about my father. "I just want to show her the life outside the temple, not where to go. She could use a bit of an adventure, she made very clear she was rather upset with not much to do around here,"

"Well, if that's the case just make sure you don't get too attached with the girl, you know how dangerous this can turn out to be, it's not only your job at stake," He said while raising from the seat and walking around me. "Jedi have rules for good reasons, and you know very well at which rule I'm referring to,"

"Gez man, she's Trandoshan, get your mind of the gutter old man, everything will be fine," I was already tired of this conversation. Just because I finally talked with a girl doesn't mean I wanted her as my girlfriend.

Even if having a Trandoshan as a girlfriend would raised my social status greatly.

_'I have to stop thinking nonsense and focus,'_ I thought with myself while cleaning my plate. "I'll return to my shift, see you around Tera, take care men," I said while waving my hand at him.

"You too Adregalus, may the force be with you," He said before walking away. I sighed.

"What for...I'm not a Jedi,"


	3. Chapter 3

I made my way back to the temple's entrance. I can safely tell I had an unusual day, lots of crazy things happened. At least from what I considered 'normal' I could tell crazy things happened.

Now here I was at one of the blasted terminals, they were most commonly used for transferring useful data across the Temple through very well protected software systems. Every single thing was encrypted, how annoying. Still it was nothing I couldn't 'handle'.

Hacking. One of the many useful things my father taught me before disappearing. I was fairly convinced I was above anything else when it came about invading security systems, no matter how well protected they might be, at least I was more cautious than a droid. I was constantly monitoring secret activity that mostly came from the Jedi Council, expecting for them to "share" any information that could lead me to the Valley, or even uncover secret mysteries that they could be hiding.

I've been getting very unusual things coming from them, from secret missions at the Outer Rim to corruption spreading in the Core, but the case that really got my attention the most was the one involving the name Vergere.

From what I could discover she was one of the main reasons for the Outbound Flight Project to have been created, apparently she went missing during an assignment and no one knew what came of her, one of the main goals of the project was to follow the very few clues that were given about her whereabouts.

Ever since then I've been trying to find more about this Vergere. What I did not expect was to find any info about her hiding behind the most craziest encryptions that I've never seen before. It took me weeks to learn them and extract the data without raising any alarms.

Vergere was a Fosh Jedi Knight.

The **Fosh** were a sentient avian species from an unknown world, possibly hailing from the Corporate Sector.

As people they were very private, preferring to remain unnoticed by the larger galaxy. They commonly spoke only on matters of great importance, content to simply listen at other times. It was believed that the Fosh population was small, although this may simply have been an effect of their ability to conceal themselves from other species.

The Fosh were, however, adept at political intrigue, and culturally, they were a manipulative species similar to the Bothans, but much more devious—many Fosh were bigots, looking upon other races as inferior, sometimes even as toys for their own amusement. They would create plots within plots to achieve either highly complex or at times very simple goals. They spoke indirectly to others, rarely revealing their true desires, and were fond of riddles and analogies designed to confuse and confound. Because of this, the Fosh were a highly self-serving, self-interested species that was only generous when their actions hid an ulterior motive. The Fosh were, however, wise enough to spot the dangers inherent in other species, and were vigilant in their dealings with outside races.

Vergere was the former Padawan of Jedi Master Thracia Cho Leem. She disappeared, much to my astonishment, about two years ago, a message has been displayed by Anakin Skywalker and redirected to Obi-Wan Kenobi. The message being from Vergere herself informing the Order about her leaving along with people called "The Outsiders". From what I could gather she dissapeared at the barely explored Zonama Sekot.

I have seen weird things in this galaxy, but a living planet is yet one to be talked about by drunken space pilots in a bar. It nearly blow me away to think a planet could actually be an intelligent life form, that was just insane!

Anything related about Vergere was bloody confusing, I had no idea why I even bothered so much about her. Some part inside of me perhaps believed she could lead me to a clue about my father's whereabouts. Now this bird woman was missing just as my father was, but not completely. I had a vague idea of where she might be, even the Jedi might have, but since she declared she left the Order I don't really think they would bother to go after her.

I was trying to relate the Outbound Flight project with her 'disappearance', something that was highly requested from the Chancellor. Now it also made me wonder why he was so eager about having this project to actually happen, despite the valuable resources it would waste. Peeking a bit more into the Senate files, something that would give me a death sentence at the moment I end caught if I mess it up, I managed to retrieve some odd information regarding the Outbound Project. Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan were taking part into it, they_ should_ have traveled with the ship that very fateful day.

They why they didn't?And why were they going in the first place?Why the two of them?It was just a coincidence?Or had the Jedi Order ordered them to go after Vergere?

My head was hurting with so many question, and to think I'm doing all this extra work without gaining a single cent.

"There you are,"

That sudden voice shook me to the core, I froze on spot while waiting for someone to shoot at me, since I'm a paranoid about such things. I quickly deactivated all the opened files while checking the reflection of the panel to have any clue of who was nearby me.

"What are you doing?"

Then I recognized the voice, it was Lissarkh. I let out a breath of relief, if it was one of the other guards things would've get really messed up.

"Hi Lis, no big deal, just doing a quick report before leaving," I said while keeping myself the most relaxed as possible. Jedi were good to find out if people were lying, but I learned to lie with someone who lied towards the Jedi for all his life. She frowned slightly at my way to address her as 'Lis'.

The Tradoshan female slowly came to my side as I turned around after deactivating the terminal. Damn, she's tall!

"Are you ready then? I'm assured that no one saw me leaving, but we should not keep ourselves waiting here. Do you have any plans about where to go?" She asked with all that Jedi formality that made me sick to my stomach. I did my best to not roll my eyes.

"Yeah, sure thing. Just follow me, we need to get the public transport. My house is few minutes away from here,"

"Your house?" She asked while having one of her eyes widening a bit. Trandoshans don't have eyebrows, duh. I mentally slapped myself at the slip.

"Yeah, I'm just getting some stuff before we drop out for the night. Don't worry, I'm not gonna let you hungry for the whole night," I said with a touch of sarcasm. I could sworn I saw her smile a bit before replying.

"You better, otherwise I'm won't be talking with you for a long time," She said half-serious, half-jokingly. I chuckled.

"Oh, gez, that would be the death of me. Now seriously...don' you have anything less...formal?" I asked noticing she was still using her Jedi attires. She crossed her arms while giving me a glare.

Well, so much to get her annoyed already. I was just asking...

"It's not like I can go shopping stuff when I spent nearly my entire life inside the temple," She replied a bit more sharply than intended. I could only nod in agreement.

"Alright then, as long we don't run into a fight and you don't end up pulling your lightsaber and chopping someone into pieces because they were annoying you.'

I couldn't help but feel good at seeing her laugh at my joke, at least I wasn't a total loser, even for Jedi standards.

_"Just what the hell am I thinking?!She's a Jedi!I could get totally arrested for even going out with her," _I stopped for a second to analyze the dangers implied in this occasion. _"Bah, whatever, it's not like I haven't done worse things,"_

"I promise to behave myself, it's no-

Lissarkh interrupted herself. The reason became apparent as a figure came nearby them. The first thing that came to my mind was Yoda, but this person was way taller than him, but not that much.

'Good evening young Lisa, good evening to you too captain..." She said while looking at me expectantly. I gaped at her like an idiot for a second before answering.

"Hum...Adregalus, mam. You're...?" I really don't remember seeing a human female this short like her before around the temple.

"I'm Thracia Cho Leem, it's a pleasure to meet you," She said very gently. Then it dawned on me who she was, and this was too much of a coincidence. "Judging by your expression something tells me you already share some trace of familiarity about my person."

"You're Vergere's master" I pointed out rather stupidly. It became very apparent how she did not expect for me to know about Vergere.

"It surprises me you know that," She admitted while looking at me with curiosity. I couldn't help but chuckle nervously, I really should pay attention to what I say out of the blue.

"You know Vergere?" Lissarkh asked towards me with evident surprise. I gave her an odd look, how many people knew Vergere?

"Not personally, you?" I answered while looking at her. She shrugged.

"I did, I was still a padawan. We had a good friendship when we were younger, but then I've seen her less and less as the years went by, "Lissarkh paused a bit and stole a quick glance at Leem, her eyes filled with a sudden coldness that astonished me. "I don't know what caused such, but after her disappearance it was too late to do anything for her."

Wow, I could actually feel how sad she was about Vergere's fate. It was one these moments that I wished I had Force powers to go farther than just be the 'sit and listen' kind of person.

"The Council has officially given up on searching after her. I'm officially leaving the Order, I no longer have a reason to be here," Cho Leem announced after a short pause.

"What?But Master Cho..." Lissarkh tried to think on something to say that could give the Jedi Master a reason to stay, but it wasn't like anything she said would change the Master's mind at all.

"Do not worry my young child, there's still a lot for us to live out there. I can say how relieved I am for no longer making part of this order. Perhaps I can finally follow after my dreams," She said with a touch of humor.

This was the first time I've ever heard about a Jedi Master happy about leaving the Order. Oh well, figures.

"I have to say, you don't seem to be carrying the weight of experience on you, you are a Master but looks young as a Knight," I commented while looking at her carefully. Lissarkh laughed at me while looking away in embarrassment. 'What's so funny?" I asked annoyed at her.

"Well, Master Cho has not only mastered Jedi arts, but also many man around the galaxy," She said after controlling her laughter.

What the hell I just heard?

"Though it was against the code..." I muttered while eyeing the Jedi Master suspiciously. Cho Leem seemed quite amused.

"Well, it was too late when they learned about it, so..."

"Wait, they actually let you stay after finding out?" I was shocked by this, and to think I always saw the Jedi Council as a bunch of tyrannic old men rule makers. Cho Leem laughed heartedly.

"There's hope for everyone," She said giving me a look I totally did not like. "Now that introductions have been done, what are you two doing here? Lissarkh, shouldn't you be at the temple?"

The Trandoshan went very quiet for a second, she stared at me looking for help.

"We're going out for the night," I said without a care in the world. I might as well have given her a heart-attack. The look of betrayal on her face made me feel a bit guilty, but hey! If Cho broke the code I have nothing to fear about it.

"Oh, that's quite an unusual sight," Leem said with a big smirk on her face, Lissarkh was too much ashamed to comply.

"Master Cho Leem," I called her, my voice carrying that seriousness of a life-or-death issue. She seemed to notice as she stared attentively at me. "Have you ever heard about the Outbound Flight Project?"

"Yes, especially regarding the secondary reasons it was pushed for it's creation," She said with the usual Jedi formality. "Why do you ask?"

"My father made it,"

A brief silence followed as the Jedi Master stood with great seriousness staring at the member of the Temple Security. Lissarkh felt the uneasiness going through both of them.

"Your father...the man who went far into the Unknown, and never came back? I'm sorry for your loss Adregalus," She said with sympathy. I frowned a bit.

"I haven't given up on looking for him, just as you should go after Vergere. I'm interested on finding Vergere, it might give me clues about my father's whereabouts. I can tell he's been into Zonama Sekot, we find Vergere, we might find him!" I said a bit too forcefully. I wasn't ready to given up on my father, and I wouldn't ever want to hear about it.

Master Leem went quiet for a second, admiring my determination at such impossible search.

"I would be more than glad to help you find both. But where would we even start?" She said with a tone of hopelessness that totally did not suit a Jedi.

"First things first, we need a ship," I said with utter confidence. "Se-

"Wait, wait, wait!" Lissarkh said while eyeing me with some nervousness. "I thought were were going out today, not to elaborate a plan to find Vergere and your Father at the Unknowns parts of the galaxy."

"Oh, yeah," I said realizing how far I went. She seemed highly amused though.

"Adregalus, how exactly do you pretend to find them? Not even the Order managed to do it even with the best Jedi," Leem asked eyeing me with doubt.

"Meh, they should rely more on the good old technology than setting search parties into distant planets, how stupid. Nothing that invading scanning systems and other orbital machinery can't do to help. "

"So you're some kind of hacker?" Lissarkh asked suddenly more interested in the conversation. I nodded.

"I should not say this, but I've found lots of interesting stuff hiding deep the encrypted codes of the Order and the Senate."

"Which would e enough to grant you life at prison," Leem stated while demonstrating her concern. "Something tells me you're way much more than just a security guard."

At this I couldn't help but smirk proudly.

"Thanks to my father, I kinda like to be a guard, but being his son is just so much more fun," A sudden idea popped into my mind. "Master Leem, it would be wrong to guess how painful the Code is for the younger Jedi? I mean, how can you spent the rest of your life as a robot?"

Master Leem laughed out loud at my comparison, Lissarkh on the other hand stared at me oddly.

"Well, I can relate with the way you think about it. I'm sure Lissarkh does it too," She said while looking at the female reptile. Lissarkh limited herself to groan in response. "The Code exists for a reason, but it has blatant flaws that should never be overlooked."

"I guess so. Well, can we at least keep contact Master Leem? You would be of great help once we get a foothold to start any kind of physical searches. I'll go to my apartment to take a look at the traffic comm system array. It's been a long time since I used those."

"I will be more than glad to help, if you really can find my padawan I will be forever in debt. Hopefully something about your father will come around from it. For now we should keep discretion.'

The three of us made our way outside the Temple outskirts and we went into the city's public transport platform. Thankfully it wasn't so much crowded during this time of day.

"I hope you don't mind joining me," I said to the Trandoshan walking by my side. She gave me a friendly push at my arm, though it actually hurt!Damn, she's strong.

"As long you don't turn into a Sith or something of that effect," She joked. Master Leem let out a heavy sigh.

"Sith or Jedi?It doesn't really matter, it's the choices you make that define who you are, or what you are."


End file.
